Wind Valley Izu Ale is a 5.5% English pale ale from Kaze no Tani Brewery, based in Shizuoka, Japan. It’s part of their all-year round up of craft beer and can be considered their flagship beer. It’s brewed using imported 2-row pale ale from the UK and also Kent Golding hops from the UK as well. Strangely enough, Wind Valley Izu Ale isn’t considered to be organic as it’s their only beer so far we’ve come across without “organic” splashed over the labels. At the time of writing, it can be found in both bottles and on tap.
It’s won Asia’s best pale ale. What the heck was it up against?!
Wind Valley Izu Ale Aroma and Taste
So it’s an award-winning pale ale from Wind Valley Brewery, with it taking both Asia’s and Japan’s best pale ale in 2015. Surprising not to see that splashed on the label as other breweries have done. It poured out a clear golden straw colour with lots of lively bubbly white head that developed quickly from the bottle. It had a slight buttery aroma and hints of apples – had they screwed up this batch? Two aromas that I don’t really want in any of my pale ales. If there were some bittering hops used, then they were hard to detect.
With a poor start, I was expecting more of the same in the body – and without fail, it was more of the same. If someone from the brewery had drunk some English pale ale, then either they were mis-sold or completely forgot what the flavour was like when they came back to the brewery. It’s lacking in flavour, bitterness, and everything else inbetween. There was the merest faintest hint of caramel in the body but the buttery flavour kicked in and left me scratching my head. What is this beer supposed to be?
Wind Valley Izu Ale The Bottom Line
If Wind Valley Izu Ale won the award for Asia’s best pale ale, I want to see what other beers this went up against as I would not recommend it to anyone.
Where to Buy Wind Valley Izu Ale
Wind Valley Izu Ale can be bought online at the following places:
